Veneer-clipper.



N0. 663,l8l. Patented Dec. 4,1900.

L. G. MERRITT.

VENEER. CLIPPER. (Application filed Aug. 13, 1900.) (No Model.) 3Sheets-Sheet l.'

WITNESSES IN VENT OR v AQ 'TORNEK THE mums PETERS co, Puu'ruuTI-IQ,WASNINGTON, a c,

0 0 N 4 0 e D d e .t nu e t a P m 0 w T nn RUM EC M m Mm GMEM m L M w m.l 8 y 6 6 0 N 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

ENTOR,

WITNESSES [NV 56M B Y ATTORNEY.

LOUIS G. MERRITT, OF LOCKPORT, NEW YORK.

VENEER-CLIPPER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 663,181, dated December4:, 1900. Application filed August 13, 1900. $erial No. 26,696. Ndmodel.)

To wZZ whom, z'tmcty concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS G. MERRITT, of Lorkport, in the county ofNiagara, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in' Automatic Veneerlippers, of which the following, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, andexact description.

My invention relates to automatic veneerclippers in which the veneer isout by a knife having a reciprocating motion and whereby one or a pileof several sheets of veneer is fed automatically under the knife; andthe object is to provide such machine with a direct and positive feedmechanism that will be free from the objections common to machines nowin use and employing a rotary feed mechanism.

To this end my invention consists in the combination, with the frame,the bed, the knife-bar, knife, and connections to give the knife-bar avertical reciprocating movement, of a feed-carriage having a horizontalreciprocating movement toward and from the knife and suitable means tolift and hold the work from contact with the carriage when the latter ismoved from the knife; and my inven-. tion consists in certain othercombinations of parts hereinafter described, and specifically set forthin the claims.

In the drawings hereto annexed and formin a part of this specification,Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan Viewof the same. Fig. 3 is a view of the front upright portion of themachine, taken from the rear and with the horizontal portions of themachine removed; Fig. t is a sectional view showing the liftingmechanism for raising the veneer above the carriage. Fig. 5 shows asection of a bed-plate to receive the knife; and Figs. 6 and 7 are viewsof attachments for cutting an irregular form, as a basket-cover,

Referring specifically to the drawings, A A are the two front uprightparts or legs of the frame, connected together by the horizontalbed-casting B and provided with bearings for the main or crank shaft 0and the drivingshaft D and also provided with vertical slots orguideways for the ends of the reciprocating knife-bar E.

F F are the short rear upright parts or legs, having bearings for ashaft or rod G extending through and between them, and sockets for thehorizontal side bars H H of the frame, which side bars are secured attheir front ends in suit-able sockets to the uprights A A.

The carriagefor the veneer or other work to be operated upon consists ofa plurality of parallel and horizontal boards, bars, or ribs I I, 850.,secured edgewise to two cross-bars J J, thus making a skeleton or openframe.

The opposite ends of the cross-bars J J have.

their ends capped with brackets j j, in which are babbitted side rods KK. These rods stiffen the carriage -frame and carry the clamps L,provided with pivot-s, on which the feed-bars or connecting-rods M M arepivoted. The clamps L are adjust-able on the said side rods and occupydifierent positions, according to the degree of travel of the carriage.The travel of the carriage ranges from a fraction of an inch tosixteeninches, more or less, and as the forward movement of the carriageis limited by the bed B of the machine the clamps L have to be set alongthe rod to'a diiferent position each time the travel is changed. The twooutside ribs of the carriage are preferably bound on the bottom edgewith strips of band-iron, and these form hearings on friction-rollers a0,, which revolve on the tie-rods N N. The carriage is conneoted by thefeed-bars M M to the crank mechanism, which gives the knife 0 on theknife-bar E its reciprocating movement and in proper time relation tothe vertical travel of the knife the carriage makes a forward and backmovement of varying amount according to the feed desired.

' From the above it would appear that a pile of veneering placed uponthe carriage would move forward and back with the carriage;

but as only the forward movement of the veneer is desired means areprovided to raise the veneering from or above the carriage during itsbackward movement and'lower the same upon the carriage that it may moveforward with the carriage during its return movement. To effect this orto lift the veneer from the carriage at the instant the latterbegins tomove rearward or away from thebed and knife and to drop the veneer theinstant the carriage is ready to move forward or toward the bed andknife, I provide a plurality of lift-bars P P, secured together bycrosslift-bars lie between and are parallel withthe carriage-bars I I.

The main or crank shaft C, turning in bearings in the upright parts A A,carries at each end a gear-wheel R. The said shaftis driven. by a secondshaft D, having pinions ff to mesh with the gears R. The pinions andgears at the opposite ends of the shafts differ in size and are ofdifferent speed ratios, and but one pair of gears is used at a-time, theother pair being disconnected by sliding the pinion on the shaft out ofmesh with the gear. In this way two speeds are given to the machi he aslow one for cutting wide stock and a'faster speed for cutting narrowstock, like hoops and'slats. The shaft D is preferably driven bya beltthrough a friction-clutch at one end and not shown. The unfeatheredarrow near the pulley indicates the direction of rotation of the shaft.Each one of the gears R R has a crank-pin 9 cast in one piece withitself, and upon this pin is pivoted the pitman-rods h h, which areconnected to the knife-bar E to give it its up-and-down reciprocatingmovement. Upon the end of the crank-pin g is secured a disk g, having aplaned way upon its outer-surface upon which a slide g is fastened by ascrew. The planed way or groove on the disk extends directly toward thecenter of the gear, and the pivot z' on the slide g may be set atdifferent points on a line running through the center of the gear andthe center of the crank-pin to give throw to the pivot-stud t'varyingfrom nothing to'several inches and to give the connecting-bars M M ofthe feed-carriage a travel of nothing to sixteen inches, more or less.

Pivoted to the upright posts la la atthe ends eeusi bar U, provided withcompression -springs 'm m. The office of this bar is to clamp the pileof veneer firmly to the bed while the knife takes its out. In thismachine the bar U not only clamps the veneer during the cuttingoperation, but it strikes the veneer at about the time the carriagebegins its backward moveform of a trough or channel and are filled withwood or soft metal 4". The cutting edge of *the knife enters into thisfilling, and in. order that different and new surfaces of the fillingmay be-presented to the knife occasionally to insure a true'clean cutthe bed plate or plates, as the case may be, are adjustable transverselyon the bed by means of the said slots and bolts. Butone of theseplatesisrequired when the straight knife is used for making a straightout, as in the cutting of hoops, bands,

slats, &c., but two plates areused when the machine is employed instamping or cutting irregular outlines or forms, like berry-boxes,peach-baskets, staves, market-basket covers, or other work requiringstraight or irregular knives on both sides of the knife-bar. Attachmentsfor doing this class of work are shown in Figs. 6 and '7, in which areshown attachments for cutting basket-covers. It will be apparent fromthis that attachments of other shapes may be employed for cutting otherarticles from the material. These attachments consist of cast-iron forms3, with knife-seats shaped to the outline of the piece to be out. Theseforms are bolted respectively'to each side of the knife-bar E,suitably-shaped knives it are secured to these of the forward cross-barof the carriage 1s a a pair of forwardly-extending arms It 70',connected together by a rod is and carrying at their forward ends aroller T, which is free to revolve in bearings. The rod is is -attachedat opposite ends to coil-springs Z Z, secured to the door, and by thismeans the roller is drawn downward upon the work. The roller T, beingattached to the carriage, moves forward and back withit. While the pileof veneer upon which it rests travels along with the carriage the rollerdoes not'revolve, but acts simply as a clamp to hold the pile of veneersecurely to the carriage and insure a positive forward'feed; but assoonas thelift-bars raise the veneer from the carriage the roller movesrearward with'the carriage, rolling upon the pile of veneer, andtheeffect is to straighten out the pile and smooth the same.

' To therear of the'knife-bar E is a pressure- -into'the wood or metalfilling therein.

seats by screws,'and spring-pressure rods u'u,

are employed to force the cutveneer from between the knives during theraising of the knife-bar andthe attachments. A bed-plate ofsufficientwidth is secured upon'the bed B underneath each knife t forthe latter'to out To allow of these attachments being seen red toopposite sides of the knife-bar, said knife-bar has its opposite sidesplaned smooth and parallel,and the knife-forms in contact with the "barare planed to correspond. The spring- -pressure rods each consist of ahorizontal piece'o above the knife-form, having an aperture therein fora vertical bolt fixed stationary in the top of the form and provided atitsupper end with a head to form a bearing forthe coil-spring thereonfor depressing the piece '12. Rods o extend downwardly from the ends ofthe said piece 1), one outside of the form and one through an aperturein the below and outside of the knife-form.

form. When the knife descends, cutting through the veneer, thehorizontal piecer remains stationary and is forced against the tensionof the spring, due to the lower ends of the rods 0; bearing upon theveneer or work When the knife is raised, the veneer is held down uponthe bed-plate, and thus separated from the knife.

Above the carriage and extending parallel with its longitudinal bars I,but above them, is a guide W for the pile of veneer to follow in orderto keep it straight on the carriage. Said guide is supported by uprightbrackets or arms w w on the rods G and N, through which pass horizontalstems to w, suitably secured to the outer face of the guide W. The guideis adjustable transversely for different widths of veneer.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The pile of veneer is placedupon the carriage against the guide W and underneath the knife 0. Afterplacing the proper pinion on the driving-shaft in mesh with itsgear-wheel to obtain the speed required for the work the driving-shaftis revolved in the direction of the unfeathered arrow. The pressure-barU, being set below the knife and descending with the same, clamps theveneer to the bedplate before the knife begins to cut and before thecarriage starts back. After the veneer is clamped and held securely inplace the knife 0 cuts through the veneer. Then the knife is raised bythe pitmen connected to the knife-bar and later the pressure-bar islifted above the veneer. The veneer is lifted by the lifting-frameslightly above the carriage, in contact again with the said pressurebarwhich clamps it to the said frame, while the carriage moves backward oraway from the knife and the roller T rolls over the pile to smooth andstraighten the same. When the carriage has reached the limit of itsrearward movement, the lift-frame drops the veneer again upon thecarriage and it is moved forward with the carriage toward and below theknife, when the operation of cutting theveneer is repeated. Each timethe carriage moves forward it carries the pile of veneer the samedistance forward, so that the strips severed from the pile by the knifeare of equal width. The lifting-frame, pitmen connected to theknife-bar, and the knife are made adjustable by suitable and well-knownmeans to regulate the depth of thecut.

I do not desire to be limited to the precise construction of the variousparts of my improved veneer-clipper, inasmuch as they may be changedsomewhat in form without departing from my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a veneer-clipper,the combination with the frame, the bed, theknife-bar, and means connected to said knife-bar to give the sameavertical reciprocating movement, of a feedcarriage having a horizontalreciprocating movement toward and from the k11ife-bar,and bars pivotedat one end to the frame to lift and hold the work from contact with thecarriage while the latter is moved from the knifebar, as set forth.

2. In aveneer-clipper,the combination with the frame, the bed, theknife-bar, knife, a revoluble shaft, and connections between the shaftand k nife-bar to give the latter a vertical reciprocating movement, ofa feed-carriage having a horizontal reciprocating movement in propertime relation to the movement of the knife-bar, and means to raise thepile of veneer from the carriage during the cutting operation and tohold it from contact with the carriage during its movement from theknife and to lower it upon the carriage for movement beneath the knife,substantially as described.

3. In a veneerclipper, the combination with the frame, the bed, theknife-bar, knife, and means connected to said bar to give the same avertical reciprocating movement, of a feedcarriage having parallel barsfor the veneer and having a horizontal reciprocating move ment towardand from the knife-bar, and a lifting-frame having parallel barsdisposed between the bars of the carriage and pivoted at one end to theframe, and means to raise said frame to hold the veneer above thecarriage while the latter is moving from the knife, as set forth.

4. In a veneer-clipper, the combination with the main frame, the bed,the knife-bar, knife, and means connected to said bar to give the same avertical reciprocating movement, of a feed-carriage for the veneerhaving a horizontal reciprocating movement toward and from theknife-bar, a lifting-frame pivoted at its rear end to the main frame toraise the veneer from the carriage, a revoluble shaft provided with acam, and a bracket on the forward end of the lifting-frame to engage thecam, as set forth.

5. In a veneer-clipper, the combination with the frame, the bed, thevertically-reciprocating knife-bar and knife, of a feed-carriage havinga horizontal reciprocating movement, a pivoted lifting-frame for liftingthe veneer from and holding it above the carriage during its movementfrom the knife, a revolving shaft turning in bearings in the frame,connections between the shaft and the knife-bar to reciprocate the same,connections between the shaft and the carriage to reciprocate the latterin proper time relation to the movement of the knife-bar, cams on theshaft, and brackets on the lifting-frame to engage the cams, as and forthe purpose described.

6. In a veneer-clipper, the combination with the frame, the bed belowthe knife, the vertically-reciprocating knife-bar, guides for theknife-bar, the knife, of a feed-carriage having a horizontalreciprocating movement, a pivoted lifting-frame for lifting the veneerfrom and holding it above the carriage durthe frame, the bed below theknife, the vertically-reciprocating knife-bar, guides for the knife-bar,the knife, of a feed-carriage having a horizontal reciprocatingmovement, a

, pivoted frame mounted on the carriage, a

roller carried by the frame to bear and roll upon the veneer, springsconnected to the roller-frame to cause the roll to clamp the vene'ertightly, a pivoted lifting-frame forlifting the veneer from and holdingit above the carriage during its movement from the knife, a revolvingshaft, connections between the shaft and the various movable parts tooperate them, a pressure-bar mounted on the rear side of the knife-barand provided with compression-springs, said bar being adapted to clampthe veneer to the bed during the cutting operation and to hold theveneer from displacement when it is raised fromthe carriage and thelatter recedes from the knife, as set forth.

8. vIn a veneer-clipper. the frame, the knifebar movable vertically inslots in the frame, the carriage, the crank-shaft connected to both theknife-bar and the carriage, the lifting-frame having bars lying parallelwithand in the same horizontal plane as the carriagebars, saidlifting-frame being pivoted on a shaft at the rear end of the machine,cams on the crank-shaft, and brackets on the front end of the said frameengaging the peripheries of the cams as set forth.

9. In an automatic veneer-clipper, the combination with the frame, theknife-bar, knife,

crank-shaft, and connections between the crank-shaft and the ends of theknife-bar, of the horizontally-reciprocating carriage formed of parallelbars extending in the line of movement of the carriage, said barssecured edgewise upon cross-bars, side rods connecting the ends of saidcross-bars, ad-

justable pi vot-clam ps on the rods, adjustable 10. In an automaticveneer-clipper,the com-' bination with the frame, the knife-bar, and thecarriage, of a crank mechanism for giving the knife-bar and carriagereciprocating movements'in proper time relations and in planes at rightangles to each other, consisting of a shaft turning in hearings in theframe below the knife-bar, gear-wheels on the ends of the shaft,crank-pins cast integral with the gear-wheels, disks with groovessecured on the outer ends of the crank pins, said grooves radiating fromthe centers of the gears, slotted slides with pivots secured adjustablyon the disks by means of bolts, connecting-bars between the saidcrank-pins and the ends of the knife-bar, and connectinghars between thepivots of the slotted slides and the carriage as set forth.

11. In an automatic veneer-clipper,the combination with the frame, thevertically-reciprocating knife-bar, the horizontally-reciprocatingcarriage, of the crank-shaft turning in bearings in the frame, andconnected to the knife-bar and to the carriage, a driving-shaft alsoturning in hearings in the frame, and two pairs of gears on the saidshafts adapted to mesh with each other alternately to obtain twodifferent rates of speed, as set forth.

12. In a veneer-clipper having an automatic reciprocating carriage, thecombination with the frame, the bed, the knife-bar, and means connectedto said knife-bar to give the same avertical reciprocating movement,said knife-bar having its front and rear sides provided with bearings,irregular knife-forms bolted to opposite sides of the knife bar,knives'secured to the forms, spring-pressure rods mounted on the forms,and adjustable bed-plates containing a filling of soft material toreceive the edges of the knives, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof '.I have hereunto signed my name.

LOUIS c. MERRITT.

